Family Comes First
by Deimoss
Summary: In the eyes of quiet Derek McClain, there was no one left in his life when his grandfather passed away. But when a shocking discovery is made about a new God father, how will this news settle with him. Smokescreen is more than willing to show his Godson that there is more to life than what Derek believes.
1. We All Start Somwhere

**Hey guys, CrimsonGallade here with a brand spanking new story. Hopefully this goes well. There will be no form of pairing or slash here. No Smokescreen X OC or any of that. More like a complicated father-son relationship. Side note: This is movieverse! but I will not be following the time line! However, Smokescreen will have a design similar to Prime AU. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Transformers franchise in any way, shape, or form. I only own my Oc(s) and that is all. If you would like to use my Oc for any reason at all PM me and we'll think of something.**

 **Without further ado welcome to Family Comes First.**

* * *

"I just don't understand this anymore. He's been through the system at least six times and time after time the 'parents' seem to have some complaint or excuse to not be able to take care of him." Audrey muttered tiredly as it was peaking at just 2 o'clock in the morning when the foster parents decided that they just weren't ready to house a teenager. Derek McClain was a good kid at heart but, he just had some difficulties speaking his mind and relying on others around him for help. He was self kept but with a little elbow grease surely he would open up to someone, the Gilberts had no right to just casually make the young male pack his things and send him away with his social worker.

"How you holdin' up back there Derek?" Audrey queried tiredly for what seemed like the tenth time tonight. Instead of giving any vocal response Derek simply shrugged his shoulders slightly and forced his pale hands into the deep crevices of his sweater. He was never much of a talker. At least not since the passing of his grandfather. Around him Derek was a whole different being, you probably wouldn't even notice him until you looked close enough. Around his late grandfather Derek was an open book just waiting to be read, now the male was a teen of few words. Ever since the funeral the teen shut almost everyone out. It seemed as though he was locked away in his own little world and only Derek had the key.

"Well, when we arrive at my office I'm going to have to make a few calls so, you can sit tight in the waiting area until I'm done alright?" All she got was a small nod from the 14 year old. Poor kid, no family left in his life so Audrey could only vaguely imagine what he was going through.

* * *

When they arrived at the office Audrey didn't even have to lead Derek to the office seeing that he had been here enough times to know the place like the back of his hand. It was a saddening sight at most. He was here since he was about ten. For most of his life Derek had lived with his grandfather in North Carolina. There was no clue as to where his parents were in the world at the moment. All the social worker ever knew was that he was left on his grandfathers doorstep without a note explaining why.

There were stories that went around the office that Derek's father, Elijah McClain, served in the army beside the world renowned Autobots. It's said in his file that he served for seven years before he all of the sudden went missing. Files stated the his closest partner, aside from his wife, was a mech by the name of Smokescreen. Based on his records Smokescreen was somewhat of a new recruit and he was a young warrior at that.

While peering at his files what Audrey didn't fail to notice was that for every emergency contact Smokescreen was written down. Did the man really trust his sons life in the hands of a young warrior this much? Not even his wife's number was there as much as the mech's. The blonde haired woman sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair. It made no sense to try and contact the wife seeing that she had gone M.I.A some time ago. The only option was to get a hold of this particular Autobot and see what she could possibly do.

Without another look at the files Audrey quickly picked up the receiver of the main desk phone and tapped the digits to the sentients Comm. Link. Please let him pick up.

* * *

Smokescreen quickly entered his quarters and made his way to the single berthroom. His schedule was packed for that day and the events prior had more than likely taken all of the energy from his sore frame. First it was sharp-shooting with Ironhide in the shooting range, which he had almost lost an optic for. Then it was the annual check-up with Hatchet that the mech hadn't been looking forward to at all for that matter. And lastly, to top it all off he was stuck with patrol because apparently everbot else had something much better to do than their own rounds.

The young warrior let out a heavy vent before finally falling back on his berth. This was all worth it in the end. In order to become elite you must train strenuously and put all of you effort into everything action you take. At least that's what he learned at the Academy,and only the best of the best was trained there. Just look at Prowl, he went from being a clutzy mech to a fraggin' SIC. That took some serious amount of work if Smokescreen ever wanted to get that far.

The mech was on the verge of recharge when his Comm. Link. suddenly let off a beeping alarm letting him know that someone, somewhere was trying to contact him. And whoever it was was certainly relentless because the beeping never ceased, even well after it's sixth ring.

With a weary groaned the mech accepted the call before stating, "You've reached Smokescreen however, please know that it is two in the fragging morning and the sun hasn't even begun to rise." The caller better have a good reason for this late night call.

"I'm well aware of the time Smokescreen. Now if you're quite finished I will continue. Unless of course you have no concern for Derek McClain." She knew that would get to him somehow in her gut.

"Derek?! Primus, how is he? Is he in trouble? Are the Cons' after him because I swear to-" The mech was cut off before he could inquire anymore,"Derek is fine Smokescreen. Well about as fine as a boy can be when they've just been put the the fostering system for about the sixth time." At that the mech inwardly flinched. How is it possible that a lovable youngling like Derek could have been given up on that many times?

"Six? Last time I was with him he was with a famliy designated as The Gilberts." He thought that would have been it but now he could see that he had been oh so very wrong.

"Yes well. The called out of my sleep stating how they just couldn't handle a teen such as him. They have their right to sign the child back to the agency with a perfectly good reason. God knows just how they pulled it off with that sorry excuse." The woman shook her head soflty, "Anyway, I was looking through his files and for almost all the emergency contacts Mr. McCain seemed to entrust you the most with his son."

Smokescreen was smart enough to tell what she was getting at here. He and Elijah were in inseparable almost all of the time during the Battle at Chicago. They shared stories with one another and over time they gained each others trust and bonded as best friends. Elijah didn't skimp out on the fact that he and his wife were expect a baby boy. He congratulated the two but was heavily surprised when Elijah had appointed Smokescreen as his Godcreator. When he searched up the term he was overjoyed with himself and agreed that if anything should happen to the two of them then Smokescreen would come in so Elijah wasn't completely alone.

However, feeling that it was the safest way to handle things after the sudden disappearing act of the couple the young warrior had left him in the hands of the Gilberts. They seemed trustworthy and loving to meet Smokescreens expectations, and believe him, he was very thorough with what he expected out of the two. There may or may not have been some threats here and there but that was only because he cared too much to his charge hurt. But it turned out that they couldn't uphold their part of the bargain.

"So, you want me to take lil' ole Derek in?" Was that really the best choice as of now? As he thought about it more and more Smokescreen came to the conclusion that a familiar face was what the teen needed as of right now. "Of course I'll take the champ in. It's gonna take me a while to reach you but believe that I'm on my way to bring Derek home." There was hidden conformation in his vocals meaning that he was extremely serious. That was a rarity in the usually upbeat mech.

When the Comm clicked off Smokescreen made his way out of his quarters and requested that a plane be ready for a round trip. This time he was bringing _very_ precious cargo with him.

* * *

 **There goes chapter one. I really feel good about this. It's in my bones. Anyway, review and leave some comments for me! X) Thanks for reading! -CrimsonGallade**


	2. Let's Go Home

**Thanks for the support guys, I'm lovin' it! Persuaded me to update faster so, once again thanks and enjoy the chappie!**

* * *

Derek couldn't recall how much time he had spent in the room. It seemed as if hours had passed by in the tiny cubicle that was the waiting room. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his head upon them. Many thoughts went through his mind as he sat there alone, it was a familiar feeling. Being unwanted by your parents was something that no fourteen year old teenager should feel, so why did he have to sit here and take the heartache? The only member of his small family that had ever shown any love or kindness toward him was his grandpa Mark. Whenever Derek felt utterly and completely alone his grandfather had always told him these words, 'Even if you feel that the world as falling apart before your very eyes, just remember that there will always be someone coming to your rescue'. For a while he believed that but, after the funeral the phrase fell to death ears that never wanted to listen to it again.

The teen was on the verge of sleep when his Social Worker's door creaked open with somewhat of a groan. "Oh, sorry. Did I wake you." Derek sat up and shook his head softly while gazing at the woman with cold steel eyes. "Well, I was coming out here to say that there is someone on their way to come and get you as we speak." Derek furrowed his brows in confusion. He had no family left, so just who in the world was on their way?

As if sensing what the fourteen year old was thinking Audrey spoke up, "His name is Smokescreen, and based on the files I went through, he is your Godfather."

Derek sat up to attention at those words and for the first time all day he spoke, "What?" His voice was horse from the lack of use but the tension in the question could be heard clearly. His grandfather had never said anything about another relative. Maybe he didn't even know, but still, why would this..this stranger, as far as Derek was concerned, want to take him in?

Unfazed by the question Audrey answered to the best of her ability, "It seemed as the he and your father were extremely close during the battle in Chicago. From what I saw in medical attendance records, he was also present when you were born. So as you can see, he must care a great deal to fly from Diego Garcia here to come and get you out of here. Derek please don't be hard on him, from his tone on the phone he was pretty worried when he found out you ended up back here."

The woman stood up to head back into her office but stopped in the doorway, "Oh, and one last detail I forgot. He's an Autobot." With that said she headed into the small office while Derek sat there in shock. This would be good for him. Audrey had no doubt that Smokescreen wouldn't let the boy down.

* * *

When the C-17 finally touched down on the landing strip Smokescreen made his way out of the port and onto the highway toward the office. The mech had tracked down the facility through his GPS on the ride here and looked for the quickest route he could find. The sooner he got Derek out of there the better it would be for the teen. For all Smokescreen knew the boy probably didn't even remember him. He was just a sparkling when he was moved in with the Giberts and Smokescreen was more than sure that his memory banks were too small to really get a grasp of the mech.

That didn't matter to the young warrior because he finally had the chance to prove to the others that he was just as mature as the rest of them. They wouldn't see him as some screw up of a mech who didn't take his job seriously. They would see just how much he loved and cared for the boy as if he were his own. And Primus Almighty he adored that kid. Derek wasn't much of a talker but, he used to express himself differently around Smokescreen. No words were needed, not on the day he was born and most certainly not now.

When Smokescreen arrived at the office he emitted his holoform outside and walked toward the glass doors. He thought that his hologram caught his features perfectly. He had black hair with streaks of cyan and silver (based on the scheme of his alt) and electric blue eyes signifying his status as an Autobot. As soon as he walked in the young warrior was hit with a blast of cold air and could practically feel the goosebumps arising on his toned arms. Human skin was so sensitive to these kinds of temperatures it was ridiculous. Before he could take another step the holoform was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a young male curled up on a wore leather couch.

Smokescreen quieted his steps and walked toward the boy. Primus he's grown since there last encounter. Derek wasn't as tall as the average male but he wasn't so short to be considered a dwarf. He was the average females height which was about 170 cm which was about five feet. He must have gotten that trait from his father. Smokescreen remembered the days when he would often tease the man about it but he never really mind.

The holoform slowly sat on the edge of the couch and ran a hand through Derek's pitch black locks. At soon as his hand made contact the boy subconsciously leaned into the touch. The small act brought a grin to Smokescreen's face. Even though he knew he didn't mean to, it was the thought that counted. "Don't worry lil' D, we'll be headin' home soon. Then you won't have to see this place for the rest of your days." The holoform whispered before the main office door opened.

"Ah,Smoke-" The male cut her off by placing his index digit to his lips and gesturing over to the sleeping Derek. She seemed to get the picture at that point and ushered her hand to the office signalling him to enter.

"I'll be back bud." With that the form retracted from Derek and made his way into the small office. Once inside he got straight to the point,"So, what do you need me to sign?" Being the energetic mech that he was Smokescreen was known for his uncanny ability to jump right into things.

"Well for one you'll need to sign a release waiver stating that he will be in your care and number two is a home inspector will be dropping by in about six months or so." The thought of a person coming in and butchering Derek with questions about his home life made Smokescreen shudder. That didn't sit well with him but, it needed to be done in order to keep Derek.

"Alright, is there anything else that I should know about before whisking Derek away from this prison?" Audrey gave him a look of disdain before continuing. "You should know that Derek is extremely quiet. He's been through a lot since his grandfather died and it took it's toll. Don't get angry with him if he doesn't open up right away. It's gonna take some time but I'm sure that you'll be able to get him out of that shell he grew. For some reason after his stay in the Gilbert house hold his shyness just boosted frantically. God knows what went on their."

"If they so much as touched a hair on his head I would **_personally_** escort they to the darkest, smallest, most gruesome cell I can find. Believe me." Smokescreen was showing a side that rarely ever came out of him. The only times he did was when his life was threatened or members of him family. And he far as he was concerned Derek was his own now, and no one would dare to harm him.

"That's good to hear. Well, let's get this paperwork filled out and you'll be on your way."

* * *

When all was said and done Smokescreen's hand was throbbing. He had never written his name over so many times in his life span. But, it was all worth it, because now Derek was coming home to stay.

While walking out of the office Smokescreen noticed the the male was still peacefully sleeping. He didn't want to wake him so the holoform figured that carrying him would be the best way. The man gently placed a servo under his knees and the other around the small of his back. He slowly stood up to his full height and made sure that the movement didn't wake him. Thankfully, Derek seemed to be a heavy sleeper. "Let's get you home bud." The boy seemed to adjust so that he was closer to the humming of his spark, this once again made a full grin bust out across his features.

Without another word Smokescreen head out to his alt and towards the young male's new home.


	3. Revelations

**THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED, LIKED, AND FOLLOWED IT'S CONTINUALLY PUSHING ME FORWARD WITH THE VAST SUPPORT. X)**

* * *

Once Derek was comfortably splayed in the backseats of his alt, Smokescreen walked around to the driver side door and entered the seemingly dormant alt. For the sake of laying low the mech kept his holoform projected to not bring any attention to himself. If he got on the highway driver-less that would bring mass amounts of unwanted paparazzi. Primus knew that those kinds of humans were everywhere just itching at the chance to get one memorable photo for the front page of the News. Smokescreen wouldn't have that, especially with his Godson comfortably snoozing away in his seats. The very thought of humans hounding the young male with a staggering amount of queries made Smokescreen's protective programming come into play. The boy had been through enough as it is, he didn't need anymore drama to bear on his shoulders. That much Smokescreen was sure of.

The vehicle smoothly pulled out of it's parked place before heading out toward the airport. The C-17 should be ready for departure when he got there but, just in case he Commed the pilot of their ETA. The mech would like to leave as soon as possible and get Derek on base quickly. The less time they spent here the better.

While waiting in the slow moving traffic of the busy highway Smokescreen made mental preparations for there arrival in Diego Garcia. First and foremost, he would have to get Derek settled into the human proportioned berthroom that was connected to his quarters. Every Autobot's room had a stationary human room built into it. They were for precautionary reasons and were rarely used due to the fact that none of the humans ever had a reason to bunk in with a Autobot. This case was different, Smokescreen had a vacant room and he wouldn't stand for Derek being placed with a complete stranger. After being situated Smokescreen would have to fill in Optimus on the details. Being the kind and reasonable leader that he was he would most likely see no trouble with Derek on the base. He would however, probably be reprimanded for not notifying him in the first place. The young warrior didn't have time to tell anyone about his little outing being that he was in a hurry and it was still the dead middle of the night. One bot that came to his processor gave him fearful shivers. Ratchet. The CMO would surely barrage him with wrenches and tell him how much of an annoying pit spawned sparkling he was for thinking he could handle the raising of a youngling all on his own. He would have to physically prepare for that encounter.

Smokescreen was pulled from his thoughts by the sudden shift from his backseat. He was finally awake, the mech only hoped that this would go well and the fourteen year old wouldn't have a spark-attack seeing as he was in an unknown vehicle being driven to Primus knows where. The question the came from the boy made relief wash over his spark.

"So I'm guessing you're Smokescreen?" Again, his voice was hoarse but them mech could care less about how he spoke. He just cared that he had said something in the first place.

Giving a cheery grin Smokescreen adjusted the rearview so he could get a better look at the male. "You got that right lil' D. Hope you don't mind the nickname, I kinda just came up with it off the top of my helm." The teen just shook his head saying that he didn't mind the name. It stunned the young warrior how well he was taking all of this. "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you know that I was Smokescreen and not some stranger human who just happened to pick you up. Not saying that I am, trust me lil' D I'm one thousand percent your Godfather!" He quickly added, "It's just you didn't seem to freak out at all." The mech didn't want to barrage him with too many questions so he just stuck to what was important at the time.

The teen shrugged before quickly answering, "Wasn't hard. There's an Autobot insignia on your steering wheel, which I doubt any other human has, and you moved the mirror without so much as laying a hand on it. From what I can tell from the make and model of the alt this is not one of those cars." Derek quickly fell into silence yet again with a awestruck Smokescreen at the wheel.

Derek was extremely resourceful for his age and used context clues to figure out just where he was. "Derek, has anyone ever told you that you're the smartest little youngling I have ever met in my life span?" And he meant each and every word of what he said. He had never meant a human his age that was _that_ insightful.

Again, Derek just shook his head and stared out of the window. The only person who showed him any kindness was his grandfather and that was sometime ago and the feeling that bubbled inside was slightly familiar but, it was still foreign in some cases.

"Well take it from me lil' D you're quite the- what's that human word- Oh yea, detective." Smokescreen swore he saw a ghost of a smile on the boy's face before it disappeared and turned back to his stoic look. The mech wanted to break down his walls little by little. Even if it took weeks, months even. He would wait patiently and when the time was right Derek would feel the need to open up. He just had to give him a encouraging shove in the right direction.

Before the quiet got too awkward Smokescreen thought he would make small talk, ya know, play a little catch up with his Godson, "I'm guessing you don't remember me at all, huh?" Derek merely shook his head and looked toward the rearview mirror with a steely gaze. Optics inherited from his mother. "It's okay if you don't. You were still just a sparkling and I wasn't really around all the time either. Being the super cool Autobot that I am means I still hold a lot of responsibilities. And as of right now you're my main one." He wanted to make it subtly clear that he was his main concern from this point onward and that he didn't have to be so quiet around him. "When you were just a kid I remember the time we did spend together and I'll tell you one thing. Those were probably the best days of my life. We did loads of stuff together, well stuff that kids in your age group did, like going down by your community lake, hanging out at the local park, and well ya know just enjoying each others company." The young warrior sighed softly. Although he had been on earth for about a human decade, the time framed here were nothing compared to time zones back on Cybertron. Three hundred and sixty five days seemed so short compared to their solar cycles. Smokescreen vaguely wondered if he would age faster on this planet. That would be a question for Ratchet to answer.

What came out of the boys mouth next made Smokescreen almost slam his brakes, "Did-Did my parents hate me for some reason?" It was a legitimate question in Derek's mind, and he believe since Smokescreen had been in his life that much then he would at least know best of how to answer.

"Did your sire and carrier hate you? Primus no. Derek they adored you with every once in their very being. I could tell from the way they held you on your first day on earth. The complete acceptance and love they gave you was second to none. I know they just...turned out missing before but I'm completely sure that they had a good reason." Derek just let out a soft sigh and nodded. If they loved him so much, why on earth did they just give him up?

* * *

When they finally made it to the airport through all of the traffic Derek expected Smokescreen to stop so that he could get out. When he didn't expect were workers with flashing guidance beams, leading the alt around back. Seeming to read his mind the holoform spoke, "This is first class lil' D. The military does have it's perks."

They kept driving until the reached the tail of a giant cargo plane. The door for him opened and the boy quickly got out while grabbing his bag. Derek just stared in awe at the massive size of the plane while not noticing the Autobot taking his bipedal mode next to him, but a good distance away for safety measures. "Pretty big isn't it?" Derek turned expecting to see the same car, however, not a feet away was an Autobot that seemed around 25 feet tall. He was just eyeballing that guess, he wasn't all that great with estimation.

"Woah.." Was all the boy could say at the moment. He had seen Autobots on T.V. but to be standing right next to one proved that everything you see on television should not be taken to heart. The mech had a base color scheme of cobalt, silver, and what seemed to be dark grey. His noticeable doorwings twitched slightly as if acting like antennae, and lastly the part the stuck out to Derek the most was the Autobot insignia that shown proudly in the middle of his ches-er chassis.

"Cool huh? Yeah, I get that a lot. Let's get you on the plane and to Diego Garcia, from your scanning's you're still suffering from fatigue. You can catch some recharge on the plane ride back, it'll take a few hours and from my experience, jetlag is not the best feeling in the world." Derek was surprised at the way Smokescreen took careful consideration. Usually with the Gilberts they would just tell him to- No. This was not about that _dysfunctional,_ to say the least, family right now. " Derek was taken out of his thoughts when he was settled in what seemed to be Smokescreens hand. "Sorry bud, I kinda lost you there for a second and I didn't wanna pull you from your thoughts. The prying Godfather comes out later when he's had recharge for at least more than four of your human hours. As of right now we need to get you some sleep. Sound good?" Derek silently nodded as he was carried toward the cabin of the plane.

Once they had been settled Smokescreen set Derek down gently so that he revert back to his alt mode. Derek climbed into the back seat once the door was opened and lied himself down on the leather material. "Goodnight lil' D, I love yah." The mech knew that he wouldn't repeat the words but the hum in acknowledgment was enough for him. THe young warrior waited for a few minutes for Derek's breathing to even out. Once it did the mech sagged on his axles and let his systems power down for a deserved recharge, knowing the his Godson was near made the process much smoother.

* * *

 **Woo! And we are done! Again, Thanks for the wonderful reviews and favs. I don't know what those things are the workers at airports use to guide the planes so I just made up my own word. XD. Also, Derek will be arriving and meeting everyone on base next chapter! So keep your eyes peeled. I was thinking, should Smokescreen have another nickname for Derek other than 'Lil' D'? Let me know! Bai!**


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